League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
Los Angeles County, CA November 4, 2014 Election
	Ben Allen Answers Questions Candidate for State Senator; District 26

The questions were prepared by the League of Women Voters of California Education Fund and asked of all candidates for this office.
Read the answers from all candidates (who have responded).

Questions & Answers

1. How would you prioritize the fiscal choices the Legislature must make to align the state’s income and spending?

Education, public safety, the economy, transportation, health care, housing, and the environment are all important priorities for California residents. There needs to be a comprehensive budget plan that ensures that all of these priorities are addressed.

The Legislature must conduct effective oversight of the government's fiscal choices. Even the best government programs and government investments must be carefully monitored in order to avoid waste and maximize their effectiveness. As a State Senator, I will fight for fiscal responsibility and transparency, so that my constituents will know exactly how their money is spent. When I was first elected as a Board Member to the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District in 2008, the Great Recession was creating major budgetary issues for our school district. However, through compromise, cuts, finding new revenues, and careful budgeting, we were able to preserve many critical programs that are crucial to student success. In 2011, I helped negotiate a deal with the City of Santa Monica that put our local schools on sound and stable financial footing. We were able to increase test scores and preserve critical programming in the arts, nursing, P.E., summer school, and libraries while still maintaining one of the strongest bond ratings in California.

California needs to start planning ahead financially. By funding our education system and connecting students with their desired careers, we can build a strong backbone for our economy. California can and should have the most educated workforce in the world, and that, in turn, will enable us to be an economic leader. We need to focus our investments on infrastructure, which will provide not only a short-term economic boost but also help preserve long-term economic growth. We also need to find creative ways to increase the availability of capital for small businesses and start-ups, especially for first time entrepreneurs.

Finally, I will be a stalwart advocate for the environment. I grew up in Santa Monica, swimming in the Santa Monica Bay and hiking in the Santa Monica Mountains. I will work on legislation designed to combat global climate change and reduce carbon emissions. I will also work to preserve our precious open space for the good of current and future generations.

2. Given our current drought condition, concern for water rights and usage is an important issue. What solutions would you support to address our water problems?

We need to start expanding our current water projects, such as storm water recapturing, the use of recycled water, and statewide water metering. At the same time, we also need to increase funding in research to monitor precipitation and water usage and that will allow us to develop new technology that can provide better treatment and management of groundwater. California also needs to have stronger water conservation measures and better education on environmental awareness. The State needs to work closely with local governments to implement these initiatives.

There is a lot of work that can go into making water costs more fairly shared around the state. We can also better encourage drip irrigation in the Central Valley, while also reforming antiquated Gold Rush-era water rights to ensure a more equitable distribution of this precious state resource. Our water distribution system needs to be modernized, and I support some form of a water bond that will address this issue at minimum.

3. California high school students rank lower than many states in student performance. What do you see as the ongoing role of the Legislature in addressing this problem?

One of the main reasons I am running is to help make investment in public education a top priority. This issue is personal to me. I grew up in a family deeply committed to public education + my dad is a UCLA professor, my mom was a public high school teacher, my brother is now a researcher and instructor at UCLA. I went to public schools and took cross-listed classes through Santa Monica College. Most of my childhood friends went on to college in the community college, CSU, or UC systems. I served on the UC Board of Regents, have taught in our state's community college system, and now teach at UCLA.

We ought to make it easier to pass local revenue measures. We can also work with local school districts on developing curriculum standards that will help prepare students for higher education and for jobs requiring a greater level of technological knowledge. The state can also invest in our higher education system, including vocational training programs and apprenticeship programs. Some may see these types of government programs and initiatives as "spending", I see it as a vital investment that we cannot afford not to make. For example, I'd like to see us bring more of our best and brightest into the teaching profession by creating a program to give a free public higher education to all of those students who finish in the top tier of their graduating high school classes in return for a five year commitment to teach in the public school system after college or grad school. I would like to see the Legislature work to reauthorize Prop 30. I'd like to see us learn from the successes of certain charter schools, while ensuring quality and fairness in the system. I think that some modest reforms to the tenure system would be of benefit to both students and teachers.

As a two-term Board Member of the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District, I have worked relentlessly to improve the quality of education for our students, and as a result, students from the school district have achieved academic excellence. I look forward to applying my experience at the state level. With the proper investment, California's public education system will be the envy of the globe, and California's students will once again rank the highest in the nation.

We ought to lower the threshold for passing local revenue measures. We can also work with local school district on coming up with curriculum standards that will help prepare students for higher education and for jobs requiring a greater level of technological knowledge. The state can also invest in our higher education system including vocational training programs and apprenticeship programs. Some may see these types of government programs and initiatives as "spending", I see it as a vital investment that we cannot afford not to make. For example, I'd like to see us bring more of our best and brightest into the teaching profession by creating a program to give a free public higher education to all of those students who finish in the top tier of their graduating high school classes in return for a five year commitment to teach in the public school system after college or grad school. I would like to see the Legislature work to reauthorize Prop 30. I'd like to see us learn from the successes of certain charter schools, while ensuring quality and fairness in the system. I think that some modest reforms to the tenure system would be of benefit to both students and teachers. As a two-term board member of the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District, I have worked relentlessly to improve the quality of education for our students, and as a result, students from the School District have achieved academic excellence. I look forward to applying my experience at the state level. With the proper investment, California's public education system will be the envy of the globe and California's students will once again rank the highest in the nation.

4. What other major issues do you think the Legislature must address? What are your own priorities?

The Legislature should address the issue of high unemployment and high underemployment. Although our unemployment rate has improved somewhat in the recovery from the Great Recession, it remains far too high and addressing it should be one of the top priorities of the California State Legislature. The Legislature should also address the on-going threat of global climate change. These two priorities go hand in hand as the greening of our environment has the potential to create millions of new permanent, good paying, high-quality jobs for Californians. The Legislature should address the issue of high unemployment and high underemployment. Although our unemployment rate has improved somewhat in the recovery from the Great Recession, it remains far too high and addressing it should be one of the top priorities of the California State Legislature. The Legislature should also address the ongoing threat of global climate change. These two priorities go hand in hand as the greening of our environment has the potential to create millions of new permanent, well-paying, high-quality jobs for Californians.

My own priorities include: (1) Increasing the affordability of higher education at all levels, (2) Creating jobs with the opportunity for upward mobility, including creating new incentives for good job creation, (3) Securing more funding for Los Angeles Metro Rail funding, (4) re-investing in our state's infrastructure, (5) Increasing funding for our K-12 public schools as an effort to secure a high-quality education for our children, (6) Open space preservation, climate change action and Santa Monica Bay pollution remediation, (7) Helping the state come to terms with its long term budgetary challenges and liabilities, (8) Supporting common-sense reporting and fundraising restrictions to restore greater integrity to the legislative process.

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Responses to questions asked of each candidate are reproduced as submitted to the League.  Candidates' statements are presented as submitted. References to opponents are not permitted.

Read the answers from all candidates (who have responded).

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Created from information supplied by the candidate: October 23, 2014 11:41
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